Communicating with Children – Never Presume

Communicating with children

Seeing the world through the eyes of a child, is an amazing way to gain an understanding of what they see and how they interpret certain situations.

I have been using the Story Starter Cards, produced by Leaf , with my son who is six and some of the children I work with, aged four to twelve.

I found the Story Starter Cards to be a great way of starting a conversation with the children and communicating with them at their level. I loved the way they would all come up with completely different stories. and ideas. We would either make up a story together, make a sentence, try and turn it into a joke, or draw a picture relating to the cards.

I used the cards at home, in schools, in the car,on a shopping trip and in a restaurant, the box is small and light enough to keep in your bag and take with you as an activity for your children.

They would be fantastic on the plane and a train journey.

They encouraged their imaginations, language development and were fantastic on starting them talking about emotions and how certain situations make them feel.

The way the cards work is simple, they are two different coloured sets in a box, one set has an phrase to start you thinking, such as, “I like to play…” and the the second is a noun such as “ Garden or Nature”.

Have a look at the picture below and tell me what YOU see, the picture was drawn by Mr Six based on the two cards mentioned above.

“Garden or Nature & I Like To Play Story Starter Cards”

I see three children outside in the garden with the sun and clouds in the sky. The two children either side are happy and the middle one looks sad.

I said to Mr Six, “Great drawing using the cards I like to play with garden and nature. But why is the middle child looking so sad and crying, are the other two children not playing with him?”

“Mummy he’s not sad, he is in the garden with his friends. He’s not crying. Can’t you see the bright sun in the sky?

He is just so hot, he is sweating and blowing himself down, those are sweating marks down his face.”

All this information from a couple of cards that set his imagination off into a child’s world and how they see things.

No matter how long I work with children and study and observe their behaviour, I still learn something new from them every day and one of the most important lessons is never presume.

Communicating With Children – Tools To Help You

The Story Starter Cards can assist with language and emotional development, learning new words to describe how you feel and what you can do if you feel a certain way. Communicating with children at a level they comprehend is a step closer to good behaviour.

Leaf has an array of wonderful products to get your children, thinking, writing and talking, whilst keeping it all fun. When it’s fun and playful children actually learn as they play.

Child Behaviourist and researcher. Creator of "Less tantrums. More smiles". I look at the bigger picture and think outside the box when working with children and their behaviour. Their world is different. As adults we sometimes forget this. Happiness Creator in my spare time. Eater of chocolate and cake.

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Comments

They look great. As a 4-year-old boy, my eldest is just starting to really express his emotions and show how amazing his imagination is. I would love a set of the “Kid Stuff” Story starters to play and explore with him.

With a 9yo stepdaughter and two boys 4 & 3 either set would be great for me. But I would love love love the girl talk because sometimes I just need a little help to find a key to get her to communicate.

Wow. I need these! There’s so much beautiful stuff coming out of my nearly 4yo son’s mouth these days. I find it hard to think of what to ask – these seem perfect for starting things off. (kids stuff would be a great set to win..)

I would absolutely love the Kids Stuff pack. The story of your Mr Six and his views on the world is such an eye opener. I love how children see things so differently to us – it’s incredible isn’t it. I wish I could view the world through the eyes of a child just for a day and see what they see

That’s fascinating how your child saw things so differently.. Their imaginations and interpretations of situations and emotions are so different to ours. Something for me to remember not only with my daughter, but with all kids I deal with.